It is not clear at the present time at whose suggestion the Royal Naval Academy was instituted, but there is in existence in the Record Office a letter from the Lords of the Admiralty to the Navy Board—which was a kind of executive commission for carrying out all naval construction, etc.—dated March 3rd, 1729, which reads as follows:—
Gentlemen,—His Majesty having been pleased to direct, by Order in Council dated the 21st of last month, upon an humble memorial from this Board, that an Academy shall be erected in the Dockyard at Portsmouth for the better education and training up of forty young gentlemen for His Majesty’s Service at sea, instead of the Establishment now in force for Voluntiers on board His Majesty’s ships; We do hereby desire and direct you to consider and lay before us, as soon as conveniently may be, a draught or plan of such a building as you shall judge may be proper for the reception not only of the aforesaid forty young gentlemen, but also of a Mathematical Master, three Ushers, and a French Master, by whom they are to be instructed, together with an estimate of the charge thereof; and you are also to give us your opinion at what place in the yard the said building may be most conveniently erected.
The allusion to “the Establishment now in force for Voluntiers” is clearly intended to include the King’s Letter Boys only, as no other youngsters were shipped at that time under this title; and, in fact, the completion of the Academy was followed by the abolition of the King’s letter, but not of the term “Volunteers per Order.”
No time was lost over the business: the Lords of the Admiralty wrote their letter, as we have seen, on March 3rd, ten days after the Order in Council was signed; and the Navy Board, with most commendable promptitude, posted their letter, with plans, estimate, and recommendation of site complete, on the 12th; that is to say, allowing for Sunday, they took only seven clear days about it! Probably, however, the matter had been under consideration previously, pending the approval of the scheme by the King in Council; but even so, there is an object-lesson to corporations, Government boards, and committees of all sorts and conditions of men; for the Admiralty date their second letter on March 13th, and the whole thing is put through:—
Gentlemen,—You having, with your letter of yesterday’s date, transmitted to us the draught of a building which you judge may be proper for an Academy for the reception and better education and training up of forty young gentlemen for His Majesty’s Service at sea, instead of the Establishment now in force for Voluntiers on board His Majesty’s ships, as also for the reception of a Mathematical Master, three Ushers, and a French Master for their instruction, with a plan of proper outhouses for their accommodation; and you having also transmitted to us an estimate of the charge of the said building, with the plan of the south part of His Majesty’s Dockyard at Portsmouth, wherein is described a place in the south-east angle of the said yard, where, in your opinion, the said building may be most conveniently erected; which estimate amounts to Five thousand seven hundred seventy-two pounds, four shillings: We send you the said estimate confirmed by us, and desire and direct you to cause the aforesaid buildings to be gone in hand with, and finished as soon as conveniently may be, at the place and in the manner you have proposed; and herewith we return you the aforesaid draught and plans, &c.
(Signed),
Torrington, Jo. Cokburne,
Cha. Wager, T. Lyttleton, A. Hamilton.
These letters are given in extenso, as inaugurating a new departure of great importance: a recognition of the necessity for some preliminary scientific training for young naval officers before sending them to sea. The death-knell of the “pitchfork” system is here sounded, though faintly; like many another long-lived system, it died hard, and even struggled into life again, as we shall see, more than a hundred years later.
Promptly as the institution of a Naval Academy was decided upon, and plans prepared, the completion of the building appears to have dragged on heavily. Improvements and additions were carried out meanwhile, and it was not until the early summer of 1733 that it was actually opened—a very long period to be occupied in the erection of such a building.
The original plan appears to have included the present west front, with the cupola—intended for, and for a long time used as, an observatory—with the north wing, and a very short wing on the south side, which, however, was prolonged during the process of building, the large study, now the billiard-room, and a small infirmary, being added. Over the latter were subsequently built some more rooms, including that now used as an observatory and chronometer room. A large number of minor alterations have since been made from time to time, so that it is not easy to identify the rooms frequently alluded to in letters, engineer’s plans, etc.
Some important alterations and additions were made about 1807, when the whole scheme was reorganised, and the name changed to Royal Naval College, of which more hereafter.
The original curriculum appears to have included the following subjects: Geometry, navigation, writing and arithmetic, French and drawing, fencing and dancing, for which purposes the following staff was maintained:—